Method of reclaiming escaped cotton discharged with hulls from cottoncleaning machines



May 15, '1928.

J. E. MITCHELL ET AL LAIMING ESCAPED COTTON DISCHARGED -WITH HULLS FROM COTTON CLEANING MACHINES METHOD OF REC Filed Sept. l5, 1925 froma battery of machines.

Patented May 15, 1928.

UNITED STATES u i V1,669,771

f PATENT OFFICE.

'Jenn E; MrrcIIELL AND DENNIS Peaks, 0F sfr; Louis, MISSOURI.

METHOD or nEcLAIMINe EscAPED corren DISCHARGEDWITH HLLS FROM corron- CLEANING Application led September This invention `relates to a novel method of reclaiming cotton from the product discharged from one or more cotton cleaning, or boll extracting, machines..

The' cotton Cleaning machine, lfor which various vpatents have heretofore been granted to us, 'both individually and jointly, operatesarin practice, to extract all but a very' small percentage ofthe cotton, and the small percentage' that escapes with the hulls is, for the most part, an inferior kind of cotton made up, usually, of hard one-seed locks Formerly, itwas` considered desirable to get ridof` most' of this cotton,` but it has been found thatif thelocks4 are suitably opened up so thatthe saws can engage the' cotton, the latter can be easily reclaimed, and While notof thevalue' of the best grade' of cotton,- it'i's, byno means, an inferior product and is" Well Worth saving, especially in a large" gin plant where the quantity of such cotton discharged `with the'hulls'would be considerable in the course/of a daysarun.

VIn Patient No. 1,182,193; granted to us' May 9th, 1916, there i'sdescribed a methodA ofrecoveringcotton from hulls discharged This method, briefly,vconsists in conveyingthehulls from a' plurality of machines into a' single recleanin'g machine, for the purpose'of ytaking out any cottony that may be in the hulls,:and` then continuously returning the reclaimed cottonvbac'k to the gin; This'proeejss, when applied to reclaiming cotton under` present conditions, has ,tivor pronounced disadvantages: Firstyit is entirely inadequate'in' capacity to cope with the large amount of hulls discharged' from a battery of foul, five, or six of ourboll extractora. Since the advent of the'eotton cleaningfor boll extracb ing machine, and especially during'the past four or tive years, theicotton'brought to the gin plantslias been increasingly mixed with hulls, sticks', and' other foreign matter, in addition to unpenedjbolls'.` This is prob? ably due to.- the'fact that" pickers and others"- handling the" cottonhave learned that su'cli trashy cotton can beeasily handled with the use ofcleaning machines,; which are now generally employed .on the'gins", and hence they are notas" careful as. formerly to bringr only relatively clean cotton to be" ginned. The result is that any recleanihg machine' would noxv have several times the bulk of hulls and other foreign matter to contend MACHINES. i

15, 1925. serial No. 56,436.

with that it would have had under the conf ditions that prevailed a few years ago, or, say, at the time the said` patent to Mitchell and' Parks was granted. It is, therefore, necessary that `any recleaning apparatus should ibe capable` of getting ridof hulls, trash, and other foreign matter with greatspeed. Second, in the Mitchell and vParks recleaning method of the v.patent referred to, no preparatory treatment is given the small hard locks of. cotton that escape with the hulls before ,they are brought into contact Withvthe saw cylinder of the recleaning ma-` chine.` Thisfmakesit very difficult for. the saw cylinder of such machine'to .extract these l hardl locks, for the v reason that" they are likely to bounce'ofl'the' teeth ofthe saw in the recleaning machine justas they bounce ofi' the teeth of the'sa'w in the main battery ofmacl'iines. y n t The presentinventionhas for its general object to providefa method of operation in the use of which a `maximum quantity of mixed cotton and hulls, thatV is to say,Y all the hulls and cotton discharged as Waste from a" mainba'ttery of'eot'ton cleaning machines, as many in number as will ordinarily be'employed .in ay gin, may be continuously, and in a substantially uninterrupted manner', subjected to the-cotton reclaiming operation, s'othat' no congestion occurs, and the entire discharge of the lWaste hulls and cotton from 4the mainfbattery of cottonv cleaning machines may be readily and ad equatelyhandled for reclaiming the cotton therefrom'.` i

A further' object' of the invention isV to' provide for subjecting the hulls and cotton discharging as Waste from the' main battery of`y` cotton] cleaning machin-es, to such action as .will loosen or'f up the relatively hard" cotton locks', so" that the cotton'uther'eof i m'ayir be more readily engaged: by' thcteet'li` of saivcylindersem'ployed for reclaiming the same;

To' this. end, 'the''I idvel.` method this.tr invention is practiced" y continuously w1thdraw1ng the' Waste productsfrom" a mam battery` cfco'tton'l cleanihgf" machines,

drawing them into and expelling tll'ein'ffrom a fan casing, in which'they are sub'jectedto the action'of the fan blades, to .loosen Jup the cotton locks, and pro'jectingfthe hulls' and cotton through a suitable enclosure, andV therein cotinousl'y removing" cotton from (it) 'l the mixture by means of saw cylinders operating-in the path ot movement thereof, while permitting the tree passage out ol said enclosure ot the hulls.

rlhe accompanying drawing illustrates a preferred form and arrangement ot' apparatus for practicing the method herein described, such apparatus forming the subject matter ot a separate application lor patent tiled ot'- eren date herewith.

ln .said drawing- Figure 1 is a plan View, more or less diaerammatic, illustrating in outline a hattery o1 boll extractora` and the means for conreying the hulls, and cotton mixed therewith. discharged therefrom to a recleaning machine, and for returning the cotton recovered in the recleaninpr machine back to the holl extractora:

Figure 2 is a sectional plan View on an enlarged scale ot the recleaning machine; and

Figure 3 is a central longitudinal sectional View ot the same.

Referring' now to the drawing'` the, numerals 1, 2:3. and alindicate tour boil extractora or cotton cleaning,r machines, which are supplied with the cotton to be. cleaned through a feed pipe 5. Leading troni the hull discharge ot each et the boil extractorsv is a length ot' pipe G, the pipes 6 communicatiner with a common discharge pipe i', centrally ol which is located a pipe 8, which comn'iunieates with the suction side ot' a. tan easingr in which is located a ian (not shown). which is driven by a belt l() and pulley 1l. Extending from the out-let oi the fan casing 9 is a pipe 12 which comi'minicatcs with one end of a recleaninfar machine 13, to be later described. From the cclcaning machine, a pipe M leads back to the feed pipe 5 `lor delivering' cotton to such pipe to l e returned to the boll extractora.

Referring now to Figures 2 and the re cleaning' machine comprises a casing 15 within which are located two lsaw c iflindcrs 16 and 1T and a dotier cylinder 1S. common to the two saw cyliiulers. Vile provide in the casing! 15 al passage through which the mixed hulls and cotton trom the pipe 12 are blown or discharged by the tan in the casingl 9, and in such manner as to come into cont act with the .saw cylinders 16 and 17.

To this end` we provide, within the casing f l5 at the top thcrcol", a sheet metal conduit 1S) which, at its, outer ,enthconnnunicates with the dischartfepipe 12 from the-fan easing t). and troni tluapointis widened or ,flared outwardly to the width ofthe cas-incr 15. which suliatantially also the width ol the 'cant cylinder 16, the inner edge of the bottom L this conduit being upwardly curved and positioned in close proximity to the surtacc ot thersaw cylinder' 16,V as indicated at. 2l. The top v22 of this conduit is downwardly inclined to a point above and at a suitable distance 'from the upper .surface ot' the saw cylinder 1li. lnnnediately above. the saw cylinder 1G, the top of the conduit 1) is curved to be substantially concentric with the surface ot the saw cylinder, as indicated at 23, and thence is inclined downwardly to a point above and at a .suitable distance from the saw cylinder 1T. From this point, the top is again curved upwardly, as indicated at 24, to be substantially concentric with the surface of the saw cylinder 17, and thence passen in a substan tially straight line to the outer end of the canin;r 15. Between the saw cylinders 1; and li'. the lloor or bottoni ot the conduit 1f) is formed by a sheet metal section 25, which entendev .substantially parallel with the top of the conduit beyond the curved portion Q15, and has its ends located in close proximity to the surfaces ot' the saw cylinders 1t; and 1T, the end adjacent the latter cylinder l'veinfr upwardly curved.y ai; indicated at 2l, Yl`he bottom section 25 ii;I located directly over the doll'er cylinder ltl. 'l`he bottom ol the conduit 1t) beyond the anw c if'linder 1T has Aitc inner end located in close proximity to the .rinl'acc ot the .saw cylindcra. and thence inclince` lownwardly to the outer end olf the casina'. as indicated at :2(3. and this member and the corrcspondinel portion 2T ot the top are outwardly flared from thc outer end ol' the casing' to the width thereo'll adjacent the Saw cylinder 17, as shown by Figure 2. At this end ot' the casing7 the conduit 1f) communicates with a pipe Q8 which leads` to the dump.

As will be seen from Figure 8, the conduit 19 in its entrance portion is so shaped that the hulla containing a certain admixture ol cotton or cotton locks ['orced into the same 'from the pipe 12, and traveling at n relatively high velocity, will be directed by the top portion :'22 directly into engagement with the surface ot' the saw cylinder 1G. which moves clockwise` or in a direction the reverse of that. of the hull` and cotton. The saw teeth bl will engage any cotton or cotton locks which are cam-ed to ilnpiucc upon the :saw cylinder by the torce ot the blast oi air and will be carried beneath the edge 21 ol" the bottoni E2() of the conduit 19, and will be disengaged from the teeth of the saws by the action of the dotler cylinder 187 and will be discharged by thc latter through the pipe 14, whence the cotton may he returned to the ced pipe 5 to be delivered to the holl extractora for linal separation from any hull particles adheringv thereto, or temporarily dumped on the tloor of the grin and subsequently and separately cleaned. Upon entering' the ian casing t). the hulls and cotton locksl will, of course, be engaged by the blades of the rapidly revolving fan within said casing, with the reaccenti `suit that cotton locks mixed with said hulls will be fluil'ed or opened out-so as to enable them to be more readily engaged by the teeth of the saw cylinders 16 and 17. In addition to this action, jhowever, .by directing the ,hulls and cotton 'locks directly upon the surface of thesaw cylinder 16, we practically insure that all particles of cotton yand all cotton locks will be engaged by the teeth of the saws. The hulls and some of the cotton locks hitting the lsurface of the saw cylinder `16 will bounce away from the same and be permitted kto pass onward to be thrown into contact with the teeth of the saw cylinder 17, by reason of the curved and inclined shape of the top of the conduit 19 at the. central portion of its length. The action of the saws of the cylinder 17 is the same as that described with reference to the cylinder 16, and all cotton carried below the edge of the bottom section 25 will be removed from the saws by the action of the doffer cylinder 18 and discharged into the pipe 14.` The hulls practically Vfree from cotton are discharged through the outlet end of the conduit 19 into the pipe 28 whence they are led to the dump.

The doffer 18 may be conveniently formed by securing at suitable intervals lengthwise of a cylinder 33, L-shaped strips 34,k the foot of each of which is adapted to travel in close proximity to the surface of the teeth 31 of the twosaw cylinders, as fully shownl and described in my said companion application.

From the above description, it will be seen that the hulls, cotton locks and particles escaping from the boll extractors 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be drawn by suction through pipe 8 into the fan casing 9, and thence be discharged at high velocity into the conduit 19, and that while the hulls can pass almost uninterruptedly through said conduit to the discharge pipe 28,-the cotton locks and particles will be readily engaged by the teeth of the saw cylinders and removed from the hulls. In this way, practically all of the cotton escaping from t-he cleaning machines, and which would otherwise be lost, is reclaimed.

The dotfer 18, by reason of the projections thereon, not only acts to remove cotton from the saw cylinders, but likewise produces a fan action, so that the cotton removed from the saw cylinders will be discharged by the doer into4 the pipe 14 and forced up said pipe into the feed pipe 5, whence it joins' the main body of cotton passing to the boll extractors. As stated above, Figure 1 is more or less diagrammatic, and any other way of returning the cotton to the boll extractors could be substituted for that shown. -In fact, in many cases, the cotton will be discharged from the pipe 14 onto the floor of the gin, and when a sufficient quantity way, it -will be kept, separate from the main body of cotton vpassing through the cleaninfr machines. Ve claim: y 1. The method of ,reclaiming lcotton from a mixture of cotton and hulls, "which consists in pneumatically propelling the mixed cotton and hulls through a conduit, `and Vstopping the movement of cot-ton and removing the same from said conduit while causing the hulls to be forcibly separated from the cotton and to be through and out of the conduit under the force of air propulsion.`

2. The method of reclaiming cotton from a mixture of cotton and hulls, which consists in continuously pneumatically propelling the mixed cotton and hulls through a conduit, and stopping the movement of cotton and removing the same from said conduitwhile causing the hulls to be forcibly separated from the cotton and to be carried uninterruptedly through and out of the conduit under the force of air propulsion.

3. The method of reclaiming cotton from a mixture of cotton and hulls, which consists in pneumatically propelling the mixed cotton and `hulls through a conduit, projecting the saine against a cotton engaging surface which arrests the movement of cotton while the hulls are forcibly separated from the cotton and carried in an uninterrupted manner through and out of the conduit under of cotton through said conduit while permit-` ting the separation and uninterrupted passage therethrough of the vhulls under the force of propulsion, and continuously removing the obstructed cotton fromthe conduit.

5. The method of reclaiming cotton discharged with hulls fiom one or more cotton rcleaning machines which 'consists in continuously withdrawing mixed cotton and hulls from the place of discharge, agitating the same to loosen up cotton locks mixed with the hulls, continuously pneumatically pro-` pelling the mixed cotton and hulls into engage-ment with a cotton-engaging surface which arrests the movement of cotton while permitting the separation and free passage carried uninterruptedly` ioo past: said surface of the hulls nndcr the force of propulsion, and continuously moving said surface to Withdraw thc. engaged cotton from the hulls.

(3. The method of reclaiming cotton dischargcd with hulls from onc or more cotton cleaning machines which consims in continnoustly wilhdraivinjr mixcd cotton and hulls from thc place of discharge, agitating the same to looscn up cotton locks mixed with the hulhs` continuously pncumatically propelling the mixed cotton and hulls into engagcniont with a cotton-cngaging surface which arrests thc n'lovcmcnt o'l cotton whilc pcrmittin the `cpzn'ation and frcc pasnagc past said surface of thc hollal under lhc f'oicc of propulsion` continuously movin;r 1aid surfacc to withdraw tho cng'agcd colton from thc hulls, and continuously rcmoving ihc Wii'hdrawn cotton from said surface.

ln testimony wlwrcol'. wc havo hcl'cunto sci` our hands.

JOHN E. MITCHELL.

DFNNS PARKS. 

